1-01-04 Observed variable - measurand (outer space) -- Ionosonde ontology from GION

[TobiasGWVerhulst]

Introduction

Within the GION pilot project, an ontology has been developed for describing the observations made by ionosondes. It has been concluded that the currently existing variables in table 1-01-04 our for the most part not suitable for this purpose. Therefore, a number of new variables are proposed for inclusion. These variables were chosen based on ontologies developed in various projects within the space weather community, as well as on guidelines from URSI that are the de facto standards for ionosonde operators.

Besides the inclusion of the newly proposed variables, a restructuring of the paths is also proposed. Currently, the few terms already defined that are relevant for ionosonde observations are grouped under "\Outer Space\Ionospheric disturbances". However, the variables listed there are not related specifically to disturbances, but are equally relevant for a quiet ionosphere. Therefore, we propose a new hierarchy in which both the new variables as well as the relevant existing variables are grouped in a more appropriate way.

The rationale for the proposed hierarchy is based on grouping the variables based on physical phenomena involved. Hence the separation between variables related to ionospheric plasma and to radio wave propagation in the ionosphere. Although the current effort by GION is working specifically with ionosonde data, the proposed groupings have been designed to facilitate future inclusion of other ionosphere/thermosphere/plasmasphere sensors as well.

Amendment details

Proposal: remove "\Outer Space\Ionospheric disturbances" and instead introduce the codes below. All existing codes are included with their current notation number in this proposed structure, so no codes are deprecated. New codes are listed with ??? as notation number.

notation	path	domains	tags	name	description
114	\Outer Space\Ionosphere			Aurora	Occurrence of fluorescence of the upper atmosphere through ionization by energetic charged particles accelerated by the Earth's magnetic field.
115	\Outer Space\Ionosphere			Electric Field	Magnitude and direction of the Earth's electric field.
120	\Outer Space\Ionosphere\Plasma Density			Ionospheric plasma density	Total number of ionized particles in a volume unit of ionospheric plasma.
119	\Outer Space\Ionosphere\Plasma Density\Electron Density			Ionospheric Vertical Total Electron Content (VTEC)	Number of electrons between two points.
???	\Outer Space\Ionosphere\Plasma Density\Electron Density			Ne(h)	2-D vertical electron density profile.
116	\Outer Space\Ionosphere\Plasma Density\Electron Density			Electron Density	3-D field of the electron density in the ionosphere.
???	\Outer Space\Ionosphere\Plasma Density\Electron Density			NmF2	Peak Density of the ionospheric F2 Layer.
???	\Outer Space\Ionosphere\Plasma Density\Electron Density			NmF1	Peak Density of the ionospheric F1 Layer.
???	\Outer Space\Ionosphere\Plasma Density\Electron Density			NmE	Peak Density of the ionospheric E Layer.
126	\Outer Space\Ionosphere\Plasma Density\Electron Density			hmF2	Altitude of the peak density in the ionospheric F2 layer.
???	\Outer Space\Ionosphere\Plasma Density\Electron Density			hmF1	Altitude of the peak density in the ionospheric F1 layer.
???	\Outer Space\Ionosphere\Plasma Density\Electron Density			hmE	Altitude of the peak density in the ionospheric E layer.
121	\Outer Space\Ionosphere\Plasma Velocity			Ionospheric plasma velocity	Velocity of bulk plasma or electrons (depending on measurement technique) as a function of altitude in the ionosphere.
124	\Outer Space\Ionosphere\Signal Propagation in the Ionosphere			foF2	O-wave critical frequency of the F2 layer of the ionosphere.
???	\Outer Space\Ionosphere\Signal Propagation in the Ionosphere			foF1	O-wave critical frequency of the F1 layer of the ionosphere.
???	\Outer Space\Ionosphere\Signal Propagation in the Ionosphere			foE	O-wave critical frequency of the E layer of the ionosphere.
123	\Outer Space\Ionosphere\Signal Propagation in the Ionosphere			foEs	O-wave critical frequency of the sporadic E layer.
???	\Outer Space\Ionosphere\Signal Propagation in the Ionosphere			foEa	O-wave critical frequency of the auroral E layer.
???	\Outer Space\Ionosphere\Signal Propagation in the Ionosphere			MUF(3000)	Maximum Usable Frequency for 3000 km path via F2 layer.
???	\Outer Space\Ionosphere\Signal Propagation in the Ionosphere			h'F2	Virtual height of the bottom of the ionospheric F2 layer.
125	\Outer Space\Ionosphere\Signal Propagation in the Ionosphere			h'F	Virtual height of the bottom of the ionospheric F layer.
???	\Outer Space\Ionosphere\Signal Propagation in the Ionosphere			h'E	Virtual height of the bottom of the ionospheric E layer.
???	\Outer Space\Ionosphere\Signal Propagation in the Ionosphere			h'Es	Virtual height of the bottom of the ionospheric sporadic E layer.
???	\Outer Space\Ionosphere\Signal Propagation in the Ionosphere			h'Es	Virtual height of the bottom of the ionospheric auroral E layer.
122	\Outer Space\Ionosphere\Signal Propagation in the Ionosphere			QF	Vertical thickness of highly structured ion density in the F-region of the ionosphere.
???	\Outer Space\Ionosphere\Signal Propagation in the Ionosphere			FF	Frequency spread due to structured ion density in the F-region of the ionosphere.
???	\Outer Space\Ionosphere\Signal Propagation in the Ionosphere			fmin	Minimum frequency of the vertical signal reflections.
118	\Outer Space\Ionosphere\Signal Propagation in the Ionosphere			Ionospheric Scintillation	Random fluctuations of radio waves resulting of small scale variations of the ionospheric electron density in space and time.
117	\Outer Space\Ionosphere\Signal Propagation in the Ionosphere			Ionospheric Radio Absorption	Attenuation of a radio wave passing through the lower ionosphere.

Requestor(s)

Tobias Verhulst (Royal Meteorological Institute of Belgium) for the Global Ionosonde Observation/Operation Network (GION)

Stakeholder(s)

No response

Applications or Systems

• OSCAR/Surface
• OSCAR/requirements
• GAWSIS
• Radar/DB
• OceanOPS
• WHOS
• WDQMS
• GBON Compliance Monitor
• Other

Expected impact of change

MEDIUM

Consultations

No response

Data exchange

GION was established as a pilot project after the Coimbra declaration establishing a joint effort between WMO, ISES and COSPAR regarding space weather data. The team is working towards inclusion of global ionosonde data into the WMO data infrastructure. The inclusion of relevant codes into this table and the registration of ionosonde observatories in Oscar/Surface is considered a first step, useful for cataloging existing data. The goal is to later on make ionosonde data available through WIS2.

Comments

No response

[amilan17]

@TobiasGWVerhulst FYI, h'Es is repeated...